A candidate for Maricopa County sheriff and former leader of the state Department of Public Safety is being sued for defamation.
The complaint against Frank Milstead stems from the investigation of shootings on metro Phoenix freeways that rattled motorists nearly a decade ago.
Leslie Merritt Jr. spent seven months in jail after state police said he was the freeway shooter. But then prosecutors dismissed the charges.
Merritt’s lawsuit says he was cleared years later when a state court found he was wrongfully accused.
Milstead recently spoke on local television as a Republican candidate for sheriff. When the 2015 case came up, Milstead said that Merritt is still the freeway shooter, according to Merritt’s lawyer.
Merritt’s lawyer claims Milstead knew that was false. They also claim that Milstead should pay Merritt a sum of money to be decided at trial.
Milstead did not comment.
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